State of New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources DIVISION of PARKS and RECREATION 172 Pembroke Rd, 03301 Phone: 603/271-3556 Fax: 603/271-3553

Request for Proposals (RFP) Food Service Concession: Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge

RFP issue date: July 10, 2017 Mandatory onsite meeting: July 26, 2017, 10 a.m. at Franconia Notch State Park HQ Proposal due date: August 16, 2017, 3:00 p.m. Anticipated vendor selection: August 30, 2017; Start of contract negotiations Anticipated start date: Contract start date November 1, 2017. In service date November 24, 2017. This is a five (5) year contract, pending NH Governor & Executive Council approval, with the State’s option to extend contract by an additional three (3) years, also pending NH Governor and Executive Council approval on extension

INVITATION & INTRODUCTION

The State of New Hampshire, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation (the “State” and “Division”) is seeking written proposals from firms to operate the food service concession at Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway & Ski Area, to include the Tramway Summit Station, Peabody Base Lodge Food Court, Cannonball Pub at Peabody, Notchview Lodge, and the Mittersill Warming Hut (collectively, “Cannon Mountain”), and the Flume Gorge / Gilman Visitors’ Center (the “Flume Gorge”). The selected concessionaire will enter into a contract negotiation with the Division to secure final details. The contract will be drafted and approved in finality by the Division, which reserves its right to make a final decision after negotiations.

OBJECTIVE & SCOPE

Food service at Cannon Mountain and the Flume Gorge should enhance the experience of the guests and provide a significant source of revenue to the Division. Additionally, food service should cater to skiers/snowboarders at Cannon in the winter and the food service company should generate additional revenues by actively promoting "function" business. The Division is looking for proposals from companies that are innovative, fiscally responsible, and eager to create a mutually beneficial partnership.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

The contracted concessionaire will operate the food service concession at Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway & Ski Area, to include the Tramway Summit Station, Peabody Base Lodge Food Court (a deli, cafeteria and lounge with food service), Cannonball Pub at Peabody (a full liquor license pub), Notchview Lodge, and the Mittersill Warming Hut (collectively, “Cannon Mountain”), and the Flume Gorge / Gilman Visitors’ Center (the “Flume Gorge”). Food service also includes operating two facilities with liquor licenses: Peabody Lodge serving beer and wine and Cannonball Pub at Peabody, operating under a full liquor license. In addition, the food service concessionaire is expected to promote and produce special event functions throughout the year.

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 1 of 9

The contract may or may not include the operation of vending machines and arcade games (placement subject to approval by the Division). The concessionaire will be responsible for trash removal. The Division will operate the food service at the Tram Valley Station and at the Old Man of the Mountain Museum and Historic Site, and may elect to operate small, new venues if or when opportunities arise.

Use of facilities by outside parties:

The Division reserves its right to ask the concessionaire to rent out the Peabody Base Lodge (or other concessioned venues) to outside parties that may elect to bring in their own food service. This shall be offered on an "as available" basis, based upon the concessionaire’s current event function schedule, and the concessionaire shall be expected to make the lodge itself and food preparation facilities available at a reasonable fee, to qualified firms. A security deposit may be charged to said outside users of the facilities. The liquor license will remain the property of the concessionaire and, if alcohol is to be served at events booked by outside parties, the concessionaire shall be the only company that may serve alcohol at such functions for which a fee is charged to the public.

Official Soft Drink Provider:

The contracted concessionaire will be expected to work with a (contracted or non-contracted) "Official Soft Drink Provider" as determined by Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway & Ski Area and Franconia Notch State Park management.

Boutique Food Items, Packaged Goods & Other Retail Items:

The Division reserves for itself its right to sell boutique food items, packaged goods, and all other retail items at its venues. The contracted concessionaire is prohibited from offering or selling any products other than those food and beverage items under the food service contract, unless prior approval is granted from the Division.

BACKGROUND

Cannon Mountain was one of the first ski areas developed in the State of New Hampshire, and among the first in the United States. It is the site of the first aerial tramway built in North America and the only such tramway in New Hampshire. Annual visits are approximately 140,000 to 150,000 skiers/riders per winter season and approximately 100,000 during the summer season.

The aerial tramway is one of NH's most visited summer attractions, and when combined with the nearby Flume Gorge, Lafayette Campground, Franconia Notch Recreational Path, Echo Lake Beach, Cannon Mountain RV Park, and the Old Man of the Mountain Historic Site and Museum, it makes Franconia Notch State Park the most oft-visited destination in Northern NH. Summer visitation at Franconia Notch State Park is approximately 500,000. Visitation at the Flume Gorge is approximately 300,000 total visitors, with approx. 125,000 paid visits.

Concessioner Food & Beverage (F&B) Venues:

Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge:

• “Mountain Station” café/food court and small bar at 4,080’ elevation (winter / summer)

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 2 of 9

• Notchview Café at base of Cannon/Peabody area (primarily winter) • Peabody Lodge food court at base of Cannon/Peabody area (winter, plus summer functions) • Cannonball Pub at base of Cannon/Peabody area (winter, plus summer functions) • Mittersill area / small F&B operation (as it comes online during winter 2017/18 or 2018/19) • Flume Gorge food court (summer, plus winter opportunities as needed) • Agreed upon vending / video / arcade opportunities for the concessionaire • Other agreed upon and/or co-constructed venues, as needed, or if brought on-line

Gross Sales for food services at Cannon Mountain and the Flume Gorge, including the Tramway Station, for the last five (5) fiscal years:

Cannon Winter Flume Gorge Total (rounded) FY2012 685,794. 440,588. 1,126,382. FY2013 1,088,002. 463,869. 1,551,870. FY2014 1,131,788. 530,384. 1,662,172. FY2015 1,278,826. 549,839. 1,828,665. FY2016 794,426. 607,325. 1,401,750. FY2017 1,254,017.

Taxes: Property taxes to the Town of Franconia and the Town of Lincoln shall be the responsibility of the food service concessionaire.

Other general requirements: The contracted concessionaire must provide, and have and hold at its expense, at all times during the contract: 1) Proof of general liability insurance, including liquor liability insurance that covers its operations and services. 2) Proof of Workers Compensation insurance the covers all its employees. 3) All local and State licensing and permitting required for its operations and services.

REQUIRED BID CONTENT & SUGGESTED FORMAT I. Operating Plan A. MENU 1. Present your standard menu for food & beverage; broken out by location, including: a. portion size b. presentation (plate, platter, etc.) c. price d. location e. food grade and source 2. Present examples of unique items of interest to winter and summer guests, including: a. portion size b. presentation

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 3 of 9

c. price d. location e. dates/occasions that the item(s) is (are) offered 3. Present one or more examples of special event menus.

B. INFRASTRUCTURE 1. Present a recommended design and furnishing for all food service areas, including areas that are open to public, the visible food service area, and food preparation areas. 2. Explain what your company will do to achieve the above, Section B.1, by using the company’s financial and other resources. 3. Explain what your company would currently propose to achieve the above, Section B.1, by sharing the cost of improvements of up to $500,000 with the Division, as provided in Section II.F., below.

C. MANAGEMENT 1. Provide a listing of the staffing (including salary ranges) that you will commit to the Cannon Mountain/Flume Gorge operation. 2. Provide an organization chart of the Cannon Mountain/Flume Gorge concession operations and how it links with your business as a whole. 3. Describe how your company is uniquely qualified to operate the Cannon Mountain/Flume Gorge food service. 4. Explain how your company will integrate food service with the rest of Cannon Mountain and Flume Gorge operations that are managed by the Division. 5. Explain your company's dress code and hiring (screening) process as it relates to this operation. 6. Provide your proposed operating schedule, by season and by location. 7. Explain your company's training program as it relates to safety and service, including food safety. 8. Explain how your company would minimize waste flow through recycling and other practices at the Cannon Mountain/Flume Gorge operation. 9. Explain how your company would reduce energy consumption at the Cannon Mountain/Flume Gorge operation.

D. MARKETING/BUSINESS PLAN 1. Provide a plan to maximize revenues obtained from existing visitors to Cannon Mountain and the Flume Gorge. 2. Provide a plan to increase the number of visitors to Cannon Mountain and the Flume Gorge.

Il. Financial Commitment A. Outline the start-up costs associated with the Cannon Mountain/Flume Gorge food service.

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 4 of 9

B. Explain how your company will meet these start-up costs. C. Present a business plan and financial projections of costs and revenues for three operating seasons. D. Provide financial statements that support your company's ability to sustain this business and operation. E. Provide the commission rate paid to the Division on a monthly basis that your company will pay on gross retail sales of all food and beverage items. The Division does not believe that the highest percentage of commission will necessarily result in the greatest economic gain for the State. You are encouraged to demonstrate how your proposed commission rate, your volume of sales, and your quality of product will produce the best net return to the State. The contracted concessionaire shall maintain such records that meet generally accepted accounting principles that are reviewed by a Certified Public Accountant. The records shall be kept in a manner that clearly identifies revenue generated from its operations and services associated with this contract. The records, including bank transactions, shall be made available upon demand to the Division for purposes of verifying and auditing revenue and commission payments. F. Provide a commitment letter for an amount not to exceed $250,000 for the purpose of purchase, design, construction, and/or installation of food service equipment and facility improvements to be made during the initial 3-year contract, and a pledge to commence discussions with the Division regarding such improvements within the first six (6) months of said contract. The projects will be matched dollar for dollar by the Division (i.e., $250K Vendor commitment / $250K Division commitment). The contracted concessionaire shall not be obligated to provide the financial commitment of up to $250,000 unless the Division provides the matching funds.

Ill. Experience and Qualifications A. Provide details of your company's food service background. B. Provide details of the food service background of each individual key personnel who will be working on this account, including where their experience took place and over what period of years. C. Provide as much detail as possible related to your company’s and the key personnel’s ski and snowboard industry, summer recreation and tourism industry, function and catering, and state park food and beverage experience. D. Provide documentation that your company is compliant with industry-standard practices and procedures to protect and safeguard credit card data, including employee training. E. Provide information and supporting documentation on the financial capability of your company’s ability to implement the proposal.

IV. References A. Provide a list of at least three (3) business references (contact name, company, address and phone number) that can attest to your company's ability to provide high volume food service on an ongoing basis, two which must be clients for which you have worked.

B. Provide records of the past two (2) years of food service health inspections and liquor

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 5 of 9

compliance.

C. Provide the results of any customer surveys.

V. Tasks & Work Products A. MANDATORY ON-SITE MEETING: All prospective bidders shall attend the Mandatory Meeting and Site Tour with Cannon Mountain Manager, Flume Park Manager and other park personnel. The Division may provide a list of all equipment that will be provided to the successful bidder. The date and time of the Mandatory Meeting will be on July 26, 2017 at 10 a.m. at Franconia Notch State Park Headquarters. WARRANTY: The property described herein will be provided for concession purposes subject to the provisions and conditions of a contact, therefore, bidders are expected to examine the property and to form their own conclusions as to its suitability for concession purposes. The Division makes no guaranty or warranty, either expressed or implied, with respect to the property.

B. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS:

1. Prospective bidders must submit their proposal in electronic format on a USB flash drive and provide an additional five (5) hard copies of their proposals to: John M. DeVivo, General Manager Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway & Ski Area Franconia Notch State Park 260 Tramway Drive Franconia, NH 03580

2. Proposals must be labeled "Proposal for Cannon/FNSP Food Concession". 3. Proposals are due no later than 3:00 pm on August 16, 2017, at the above address. 4. Proposals must be signed by an officer of the company. The Division reserves the right to seek supplemental information from any firm at any time prior to awarding the contract. 5. The bidder must include a statement of fact that they have no felony convictions, and that they are not under indictment for any Federal offense.

VI. Evaluation Criteria, Terms and Conditions & Contract Award: A. EVALUATION CRITERIA Proposals will be judged by the Division on their relative performance in the following areas:

1. Operating Plan, as described in Section I above (40%) 2. Financial Commitment, including commission and capital improvements plan, as described in Section II (30%) 3. Experience and qualifications, as described in Section III, and References, as described in Section IV, above (30%)

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 6 of 9

Rights of the Division in accepting and evaluating Proposals The Division reserves its right to:  Make independent investigations in evaluating Proposals.  Request additional information to clarify elements of a Proposal.  Waive minor or immaterial deviations from the RFP requirements, if determined to be in the best interest of the Division.  Omit any planned evaluation step if, in the Division’s view, the step is not needed.  Reject any and all Proposals at any time, at the sole discretion of the Division.

B. TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATED TO THE RFP PROCESS

1. Property Restrictions. The State Park property (Park), including areas subject to this RFP, are restricted by covenants under Section 6(f) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Certain uses of the Park, including alterations, improvements, and expansion to the premises may be restricted under these covenants and shall therefore require review and approval procedures provided in Federal Sections 6(f) and 106 regulatory review herein. The contracted vendor shall be solely responsible for any actions taken without prior approval of the State that violate the restricted covenants under Section 6(f) and Section 106.

2. RFP Addendum. The Division reserves the right to amend this RFP at its discretion, prior to the Proposal submission deadline. In the event of an addendum to this RFP, the Division, at its sole discretion, may extend the Proposal submission deadline, as it deems appropriate.

3. Non-Collusion. The Contractor’s signature on a Proposal submitted in response to this RFP guarantees that the prices, terms and conditions, and Work quoted have been established without collusion with other Contractors and without effort to preclude the Division from obtaining the best possible competitive Proposal.

4. Property of the Division. All material received in response to this RFP shall become the property of the State and will not be returned to the Contractor. Upon Contract award, the State reserves the right to use any information presented in any Proposal.

5. Confidentiality of a Proposal. Unless necessary for the approval of a contract, the substance of a proposal must remain confidential until the Effective Date of any Contract resulting from this RFP. A Proposer’s disclosure or distribution of Proposals other than to the Division will be grounds for disqualification.

6. Public Disclosure. Pursuant to RSA 21-G:37, all responses to this RFP shall be considered confidential until the award of a contract. At the time of receipt of proposals, the Division will post the number of responses received with no further information. No later than five (5) business days prior to submission of a contract to Governor & Executive Council pursuant to this RFP, the Division will post the name, rank or score of each proposer.

The content of each Proposer’s Proposal shall become public information upon the award of any resulting Contract. Any information submitted as part of a response to this request for proposal (RFP) may be subject to public disclosure under RSA 91-A. In

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 7 of 9

addition, in accordance with RSA 9-F:1, any contract entered into as a result of this RFP will be made accessible to the public online via the website Transparent NH (http://www.nh.gov/transparentnh/). Accordingly, business financial information and proprietary information such as trade secrets, business and financials models and forecasts, and proprietary formulas may be exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV. If you believe any information being submitted in response to this request for proposal, bid or information should be kept confidential as financial or proprietary information; you must specifically identify that information in a letter to the agency, and must mark/stamp each page of the materials that you claim must be exempt from disclosure as “CONFIDENTIAL”. A designation by the Proposer of information it believes exempt does not have the effect of making such information exempt. The Division will determine the information it believes is properly exempted from disclosure. Marking of the entire Proposal or entire sections of the Proposal (e.g. pricing) as confidential will neither be accepted nor honored. Notwithstanding any provision of this RFP to the contrary, Proposer pricing will be subject to disclosure upon approval of the contract. The Division will endeavor to maintain the confidentiality of portions of the Proposal that are clearly and properly marked confidential. If a request is made to the Division to view portions of a Proposal that the Proposer has properly and clearly marked confidential, the Division will notify the Proposer of the request and of the date the Division plans to release the records. By submitting a Proposal, Proposers agree that unless the Proposer obtains a court order, at its sole expense, enjoining the release of the requested information, the Division may release the requested information on the date specified in the Division’s notice without any liability to the Proposers.

7. Non-Commitment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this RFP, this RFP does not commit the Division to award a Contract. The Division reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject any and all Proposals, or any portions thereof, at any time; to cancel this RFP; and to solicit new Proposals under a new acquisition process.

8. Proposal Preparation Cost. By submitting a Proposal, a Proposer agrees that in no event shall the Division be either responsible for or held liable for any costs incurred by a Proposer in the preparation of or in connection with the Proposal, or for Work performed prior to the Effective Date of a resulting Contract.

9. Ethical Requirements. From the time this RFP is published until a contract is awarded, no bidder shall offer or give, directly or indirectly, any gift, expense reimbursement, or honorarium, as defined by RSA 15-B, to any elected official, public official, public employee, constitutional official, or family member of any such official or employee who will or has selected, evaluated, or awarded an RFP, or similar submission. Any bidder that violates RSA 21-G:38 shall be subject to prosecution for an offense under RSA 640:2. Any bidder who has been convicted of an offense based on conduct in violation of this section, which has not been annulled, or who is subject to a pending criminal charge for such an offense, shall be disqualified from bidding on the RFP, or similar request for submission and every such bidder shall be disqualified from bidding on any RFP or similar request for submission issued by any state agency. A bidder that was disqualified under this section because of a pending criminal charge which is subsequently dismissed, results in an acquittal, or is annulled, may notify the department of administrative services, which shall note that information on the list maintained on the state’s internal intranet system, except in the case of annulment, the information, shall be deleted from the list.

10. Challenges on Form or Process of the RFP. Any challenges regarding the validity or

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 8 of 9

legality of the form and procedures of this RFP shall be brought to the attention of the Division at least ten (10) business days prior to the Proposal Submission Deadline. By submitting a proposal, the Proposer waives the right to challenge the Division’s use of the form and procedures of the RFP, including the criteria for evaluating and scoring the Proposals.

C. AWARDING OF CONTRACT

As outlined in the Invitation and Introduction section, the Division may enter into contract negotiations with the highest scoring firm. In the event that agreement cannot be reached, the Division may enter into negotiations with the second highest scoring firm or reject all proposals. The Division may also choose to entertain multiple high scorers to obtain further information and comfort prior to making a final decision, engaging in contract negotiations, and awarding a contract.

Any resulting contract from this RFP will be a non-exclusive contract. The Division reserves its right, at its discretion, to retain other contractors to provide any of the services or deliverables identified under this RFP or make an award by item, part or portion of an item, group of items, or total Proposal.

The contract recommended by the Commissioner will be proposed to the Governor and Executive Council for final approval. Pending approval by the Governor and Executive Council, the contract is expected to commence on November 1, 2017. The Division reserves its right to reject any and all proposals for any reason at any time.

D. QUESTIONS

For questions regarding this RFP, please contact:

John M. DeVivo, General Manager Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway & Ski Area Franconia Notch State Park 603-823-8800 [email protected]

PAB/JMD/ttl-071017

Food Service Concession RFP for Cannon Mountain & Flume Gorge Page 9 of 9